The Irish Rover

"The Irish Rover" is a traditional Irish song about a magnificent sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, some of whom have made changes to the lyrics.

Original lyrics

In the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and six,

We set sail from the sweet Cobh of Cork

We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks

For the grand City Hall in New York

'Twas a wonderful craft, she was rigged 'fore and aft

And how the wild winds drove her

She 'stood several blasts, she had twenty-seven masts

And they called her the Irish Rover

There was Barney McGee from the banks of the Lee

There was Hogan from County Tyrone

There was Johnny McGurk who was scared stiff of work

And a man from Westmeath called Malone

There was Slugger O'Toole who was drunk as a rule

And fighting Bill Tracy from Dover

And your man Mick McCann, from the banks of the Bann

Was the skipper on the Irish Rover

We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags

We had two million barrels of stones

We had three million sides of old blind horses' hides

We had four million barrels of bones

We had five million hogs and six million dogs

And seven million barrels of porter

We had eight million bales of old nanny goats' tails

In the hold of the Irish Rover

We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out

And our ship lost her way in the fog

And the whole of the crew was reduced down to two

'Twas meself and the captain's old dog

Then the ship struck a rock; oh Lord what a shock

The bulkhead was turned right over

We turned nine times around - then the poor old dog was drowned

Now I'm the last of the Irish Rover

The Pogues ft. The Dubliners lyrics

On the Fourth of July, eighteen hundred and six

We set sail from the sweet Cobh of Cork

We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks

For the Grand City Hall in New York

'Twas a wonderful craft

She was rigged fore and aft

And oh, how the wild wind drove her

She stood several blasts

She had twenty seven masts

And they called her The Irish Rover

We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags

We had two million barrels of stone

We had three million sides of old blind horses hides

We had four million barrels of bones

We had five million hogs

And six million dogs

Seven million barrels of porter

We had eight million bails of old nanny-goats' tails

In the hold of the Irish Rover

There was awl Mickey Coote

Who played hard on his flute

When the ladies lined up for a set

He was tootin' with skill

For each sparkling quadrille

Though the dancers were fluther'd and bet

With his smart witty talk

He was cock of the walk

And he rolled the dames under and over

They all knew at a glance

When he took up his stance

That he sailed in The Irish Rover

There was Barney McGee

From the banks of the Lee

There was Hogan from County Tyrone

There was Johnny McGurk

Who was scared stiff of work

And a man from Westmeath called Malone

There was Slugger O'Toole

Who was drunk as a rule

And Fighting Bill Treacy from Dover

And your man, Mick MacCann

From the banks of the Bann

Was the skipper of the Irish Rover

We had sailed seven years

When the measles broke out

And the ship lost its way in the fog

And that whale of a crew

Was reduced down to two

Just myself and the Captain's old dog

Then the ship struck a rock

Oh Lord what a shock

The bulkhead was turned right over

Turned nine times around

And the poor old dog was drowned

And the last of The Irish Rover

Cultural impact

• In issue 26 of DC/Vertigo series Preacher when Cassidy describes his drinking buddies in New York City, the names are all taken from the Irish Rover.
• Russian band Aquarium issued this song with original Russian lyrics as Беспечный русский бродяга (Carefree Russian rover) on the namesake album of 2006.